This invention relates generally to engineering computer design and analysis tools, and more particularly to a process, a digital computer, and a medium readable by a digital computer for the engineering design and analysis of turbine engine disks.
Typically, a turbine engine disk design engineer uses a computer-aided design (CAD) system and one or more engineering analysis programs to design rotating turbine engine hardware. One typical engineering analysis program is a finite element analysis (FEA) package. The analysis process typically includes a simplified representation of the geometric shape. For every design iteration, the simplified representation of the geometry has to be regenerated. Typically, the design engineer gives the initial design to an analyst. The analyst converts the CAD model into a neutral geometric representation, for example, IGES (International Geometry Exchange Standard), which is then loaded into an engineering analysis package and is then manually simplified (e.g. trimming unwanted pieces to simplify the geometry) to the level of detail necessary for the analysis. However, if the simplified geometry of the design remains so extensive that it cannot be handled by the engineering analysis package, the analyst may choose to build the simplified geometry from scratch.
If the analyst finds that the part does not meet its requirements, for example, because stresses, displacements, or temperatures are too high, the designer will modify the geometry and complete another iteration of the process, which process is time consuming and vulnerable to errors introduced by operators restructuring the models.
Therefore, there is a need for a process that automates the generation of analysis models from CAD geometry models and provides a level of association between topological features of the CAD geometry and the corresponding regions of the analysis model.